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Welcome! I’m so happy that you have found me. My name is Victoria.

To mark the final year in my 20s I have decided to undertake 30 challenges, raising awareness of mental health and autism as well as fundraising for three amazing charities. These challenges are all to be completed before my 30th birthday. I don’t want birthday presents, instead I have asked friends and family to make a donation to my cause. This is my blog which I will use to document my year:

30 things for 30 years.

About

Following my personal experiences of depression and autism I have decided to take a stand and change the stigmas. During the next 12 months I will undertake 30 challenges, to try new things and overcome my fears. I have asked my friends and family not to buy presents for my 30th Birthday, instead I would like to raise money for three charities close to my heart. If you would like to make a donation, please click here. These charities are:

The Big 30

Here is a list of the 30 challenges I will undertake over the next twelve months. Please subscribe to my blog if you would like to follow my progress, both in the challenges and my fundraising.

1) Swimming with sharks (March)

2) Balmoral 5km (April 21st)

3) The Illuminator night race (October 27th)

4) The Banchory Beast (September 22nd)

5) Swim the distance of the Channel in 12 weeks (May, June and July)

6) Be a human sponge target (June)

7) Conquering a zip wire course (August)

8) Giving up chocolate for Lent (February 14th – April 1st)

9) Reverse advent calendar (December)

10) Canyoning

11) Volunteering at a care home

12) Organising a pop up cafe (May)

13) Anonymously pay for someone’s meal (??? 😉)

14) Read at the children’s hospital

15) Climb Ben Nevis (June)

16) Host a pudding night

17) Shear a sheep

18) Learn and create the art of stained glass (November)

19) Try open water swimming

20) GungHo! Aberdeen (1st September)

21) Visit the homeless in Aberdeen with food supplies

22) Eat an entire tub of twiglets (🤢) in one go (July)

23) Host a pub quiz

24) Go vegan for a month (July)

25) Create a ‘shared bookshelf’ in Aberdeenshire (February/ March)

26) Cycle the whole Deeside Way (August)

27) Plant a ceremonial tree (April)

28) Volunteer at the Deeside Drop In Games Club (Jan+)

29) Host a charity Beauty Night

30) Give a public talk on Mental Health

Blog

In 5 weeks time I will be partaking in my first sporting meet of ‘30 things for 30 years’, the Balmoral 5km. This will not only be the first sports event of my year, but my first event like this ever. At the start of 2018, when I originally signed up for the various challenges …

It is said that you should do something every day that scares you. On Saturday I certainly did just that. On Saturday, I completed one of my biggest personal challenges for 30 things for 30 years. As of Saturday, I can now join those that say “I’ve dived with sharks you know”. What a thing …

I have recently started reading a book called “Self care for the real world” which was recommended by an Instagram account that I follow. I am not usually one for this genre of book, I tend to favour fiction for a bit of escapism personally, but given that this my year for trying new things …